Breakthrough

"Master."

Just then, the steward brought over an antique box.

When it was opened, ten perfectly round pills lay inside, their fresh medicinal fragrance filling the air.

They were Five Elements Pills.

Evidently, Jiang Sihai had sent someone to buy them first thing that morning.

"Chen'er, from now on, focus on cultivating. Don't worry about resources or money."

Jiang Sihai handed the pills to Jiang Chen and made up his mind.

Even if it meant breaking with the clan, he would do everything in his power to cultivate Jiang Chen.

"Thank you, Father."

Jiang Chen took the pills and returned to his courtyard.

"If I want a steady supply of resources, relying on the family alone won't be enough."

He opened a pill and swallowed it. As he waited for the medicinal effects to take hold, Jiang Chen pondered to himself.

For now, the family could still keep up with his needs. But once he reached the True Martial Realm, they would likely be stretched thin.

So he had to find a way to earn money, too.

As for the clan, he had no hopes of them.

Jiang Xuan was not only descended from an elder's branch, but also had better bone aptitude than he did. Even if Jiang Chen revealed extraordinary talent, the clan would never support him.

It was the same old story: as long as someone was human, they had their own selfish interests.

So when it came to money and resources, he would have to rely on himself.

"First, I'll break through to the Second Qi and Blood Gate."

Before long, the gentle medicinal effects nourished his viscera, and Jiang Chen began practicing his fist techniques in the courtyard.

His movements flowed smoothly. At a glance, he looked as if a white ape had truly possessed him.

Each time he performed the fist technique, his viscera were tempered once, while the Five Elements Pill's medicinal power replenished what was used up.

It formed a virtuous cycle.

If his fist technique hadn't reached perfection, the tempering effect on his viscera would have weakened, and the pill's medicinal power would have been consumed more slowly.

From this, it was clear just how terrifying the Eternal Realm of the Myriad Dao Chart was.

In the days that followed, Jiang Chen didn't go to the martial arts school. He stayed home to cultivate.

For most people, going to the school meant receiving instruction, but he had no need of that.

The boost to his comprehension from the Myriad Dao Chart was the best teacher he could have.

So he planned to return to the school only after breaking through to the Second Qi and Blood Gate.

Time slipped by quietly.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

At the end of Hai Hour, the stars and moon shone together.

Boom!

Jiang Chen had been focused on practicing his fists when he suddenly stopped.

His martial blood qi surged like boiling water, and a powerful aura poured from his pores.

"I finally broke through!"

Jiang Chen's spirits soared.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Technique: White Ape Fist · Perfection]

[Cultivation: Second Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 1%]

[Martial Art: Stone Moving Method · Perfection]

The cultivation entry on the Myriad Dao Chart had changed. He had officially reached the Second Qi and Blood Gate.

"Five Viscera Essence!"

Looking inward with his mind, Jiang Chen could clearly see wisps of supremely pure energy seeping out from his viscera and merging into his martial blood qi.

As that pure energy fused with it, his martial blood qi began to grow purer as well, expelling impurities from time to time.

This was the path of cultivation at the Second Qi and Blood Gate.

When the total amount of blood qi could no longer increase, the Five Viscera Essence was infused into it, transforming its very quality.

"Let's test its power!"

Jiang Chen walked up to the old tree and threw a punch, unleashing his blood qi.

A thud rang out.

A distinct fist mark appeared on the tree.

Four inches deep!

Four hundred jin of force!

Thud, thud, thud...

Jiang Chen circled the tree, striking it rapidly with his fists.

He landed over a hundred punches in succession and stopped only when his blood qi was spent.

"Such a huge boost from my first transformation..."

Looking at his fists, which were only faintly red, Jiang Chen smiled.

His strength had increased, but so had his reflexes, speed, defense, and more. It was a transformation in every respect.

Now, he could easily beat down several ordinary adults, let alone martial artists who had perfected the First Qi and Blood Gate.

That was the martial path.

Each realm was a world of its own!

"Stance training."

Only after a while did Jiang Chen rein in his thoughts and assume a stance to recover his blood qi and strength.

It was the same old story.

Whether it was the First Qi and Blood Gate or the Second, he was still far too weak.

He had to reach the True Martial Realm as quickly as possible to break free of his current predicament.

If he couldn't get a seat at the table before the new order in Prefecture City took shape, he would be nothing but meat on the chopping board.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Once his strength and blood qi had recovered, Jiang Chen continued practicing the White Ape Fist.

Beneath the moonlight, his figure darted about like a nimble ape. His punches roared with a low, thunderous rush, while his steps remained surprisingly light, lending his movements an indescribable grace.

Time slipped by, and soon it was the end of Zi Hour. The night breeze was chilly.

"Hah!"

Jiang Chen, his body steaming with heat, slowly breathed out a mouthful of foul air.

[Cultivation: Second Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 1%]

As he finished his forms and straightened, Jiang Chen turned his mind inward.

The Myriad Dao Chart showed that his cultivation had increased by only 1%.

He had already realized that refining Five Viscera Essence was extremely difficult.

But he hadn't expected that even with the medicinal power of a Five Elements Pill, he would only advance 1% in an hour.

At eight hours of cultivation a day, that meant only 8% per day.

In other words...

It would take him nearly forty days to perfect the Second Qi and Blood Gate?

That was nearly ten times harder than the First Qi and Blood Gate, which he'd perfected in just three or four days.

"At this pace, reaching the True Martial Realm by the end of the year shouldn't be a problem, but..."

Jiang Chen wiped away his sweat, his thoughts churning.

He could cross the Second Qi and Blood Gate in a little over a month.

With the several months remaining after that, breaking through the Three Qi and Blood Gates and reaching the True Martial Realm shouldn't be difficult.

But this pace was still too slow.

Whether he wanted the martial arts school to recruit him or hoped to join the City Guard, he had to shorten the time it took to reach the True Martial Realm.

Otherwise, with his Ordinary Bone Aptitude, he would have a hard time earning anyone's attention.

The major factions valued a martial artist's potential above all else.

And potential was closely tied to bone aptitude.

If he wanted people to take him seriously, he had to display a sufficiently astonishing rate of cultivation.

"There's no changing my bone aptitude, so I only have two paths."

Jiang Chen soon came up with a plan.

The first path was to spend more time cultivating.

He used to stop cultivating at Zi Hour and go to bed.

But from now on, he would extend his cultivation time by two or three hours.

With a martial artist's constitution, three or four hours of sleep a day would be enough.

The second path was cultivation resources.

If there was a high-grade auxiliary medicine like Blood Ginseng Powder for the First Qi and Blood Gate, then there should be an even stronger medicine for the Second Qi and Blood Gate, aside from the Five Elements Pill. It would just come down to the price.

At last, it was the middle of Chou Hour. Only when the watchman's call rang out did he finish cultivating.

[Cultivation: Second Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 3%]

As expected, his cultivation on the Myriad Dao Chart had increased by 2%, and his martial blood qi had grown purer still.

"Sleep."

After washing himself with a bucket of water, Jiang Chen went back to his room to sleep.

Three hours later.

At the start of Mao Hour, the sky was still dim, but he rolled out of bed.

He had gone to sleep at Chou Hour and risen at Mao Hour.

That would extend his daily cultivation time to eleven hours.

At an increase of 1% per hour, he could now advance 11% a day.

[Cultivation: Second Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 4%]

An hour later, the sky was gradually brightening. Jiang Chen finished his forms and straightened up.

After resting briefly, he went to eat breakfast.

Practicing the White Ape Fist consumed a great deal of strength.

Without the Five Elements Pill's medicinal power to nourish him, he would have to eat after every hour of training to replenish himself.

"Chen'er, why are you up so early today?"

Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun came over after hearing the news.

"Father, Mother, I've broken through."

Jiang Chen, who was eating heartily, shared the news.

"You broke through?!"

"The Second Qi and Blood Gate?!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun froze, then erupted with joy.

Jiang Chen had only returned from the martial arts school ten days ago.

In just ten days, he had reached the Second Qi and Blood Gate?!

Was the Second Qi and Blood Gate really so easy to break through?

If they remembered correctly, Jiang Xuan had taken quite some time to break through.

And Jiang Xuan had Medium Bone Aptitude.

Did that mean Jiang Chen's talent was no worse than Jiang Xuan's?

Perhaps even better?